WHEN HE
SAW the crowds he went up the hill. There he took his seat, and when his
disciples had gathered round him he began to address them.

And this
is the teaching he gave:

‘How
blest are those who know their need of God; the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

How blest are the sorrowful; they shall
find consolation.

How blest are those of a gentle spirit;
they shall have the earth for their
possession.

How blest are those who hunger and thirst to see right
prevail; they shall be satisfied.

How blest are those who show mercy;
mercy shall be shown to them.

How blest are those whose hearts are
pure; they shall see God.

How blest are the peacemakers; God shall
call them his sons.

How blest are those who have suffered persecution for the
cause of right; the kingdom
of Heaven is theirs.

‘How
blest you are, when you suffer insults and persecution and every kind of
calumny for my sake. Accept it with gladness and exultation, for you have a
rich reward in heaven; in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.

‘You are
salt to the world. And if salt becomes tasteless, how is its saltiness to be
restored? It is now good for nothing but to be thrown away and trodden
underfoot.

‘You are
light for all the world. A town that stands on a hill cannot be hidden. When a
lamp is lit, it is not put under the meal-tub, but on the lamp-stand, where it
gives light to everyone in the house. And you, like the lamp, must shed light
among your fellows, so that, when they see the good you do, they may give
praise to your Father in heaven.

‘Do not
suppose that I have come to abolish the Law and the prophets; I did not come to
abolish, but to complete. I tell you this: so long as heaven and earth endure,
not a letter, not a stroke, will disappear from the Law until all that must
happen has happened. If any man, therefore, sets aside even the least of the
Law’s demands, and teaches others to do the same, he will have the lowest place
in the kingdom of Heaven, whereas anyone who keeps the Law, and teaches others
so, will stand high in the kingdom of Heaven. I tell you, unless you show
yourselves far better men than the Pharisees and the doctors of the law, you
can never enter the kingdom
of Heaven.

‘You have
learned that our forefathers were told, “Do not commit murder; anyone who
commits murder must be brought to judgement.” But what I tell you is this:
Anyone who nurses anger against his brother must be brought to judgement. If he
abuses his brother he must answer for it to the court; if he sneers at him he
will have to answer for it in the fires of hell.

‘If, when
you are bringing your gift to the altar, you suddenly remember that your
brother has a grievance against you, leave your gift where it is before the
altar. First go and make your peace with your brother, and only then come back
and offer your gift.

‘If
someone sues you, come to terms with him promptly while you are both on your
way to court; otherwise he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the
constable, and you will be put in jail. I tell you, once you are there you will
not be let out till you have paid the last farthing.

‘You have
learned that they were told, “Do not commit adultery.” But what I tell you is
this: If a man looks on a woman with a lustful eye, he has already committed
adultery with her in his heart.

‘If your
right eye is your undoing, tear it out and fling it away; it is better for you
to lose one part of your body than for the whole of it to be thrown into hell.
And if your right hand is your undoing, cut it off and fling it away; it is
better for you to lose one part of your body than for the whole of it to go to
hell.

‘They
were told, “A man who divorces his wife must give her a note of dismissal.” But
what I tell you is this: If a man divorces his wife for any cause other than
unchastity he involves her in adultery; and anyone who marries a divorced woman
commits adultery.

‘Again,
you have learned that our forefathers were told, “Do not break your oath”, and,
“Oaths sworn to the Lord must be kept.” But what I tell you is this: You are
not to swear at all—not by heaven, for it is God’s throne, nor by earth, for it
is his footstool, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King, nor
by your own head, because you cannot turn one hair of it white or black. Plain
“Yes” or “No” is all you need to say; anything beyond that comes from the
devil.

‘You have learned that they were told, “Eye
for eye, tooth for tooth.” But what I tell you is this: Do not set yourself
against the man who wrongs you. If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn
and offer him your left. If a man wants to sue you for your shirt, let him have
your coat as well. If a man in authority makes you go one mile, go with him
two. Give when you are asked to give; and do not turn your back on a man who
wants to borrow.

‘You have
learned that they were told, “Love your neighbour, hate your enemy.” But what I
tell you is this: Love your enemies and pray for your persecutors; only so can
you be children of your heavenly Father, who makes his sun rise on good and bad
alike, and sends the rain on the honest and the dishonest. If you love only
those who love you, what reward can you expect? Surely the tax-gatherers do as
much as that. And if you greet only your brothers, what is there extraordinary
about that? Even the heathen do as much. There must be no limit to your
goodness, as your heavenly Father’s goodness knows no bounds.

‘Be
careful not to make a show of your religion before men; if you do, no reward
awaits you in your Father’s house in heaven. Thus, when you do some act of
charity, do not announce it with a flourish of trumpets, as the hypocrites do
in synagogue and in the streets to win admiration from men. I tell you this:
they have their reward already. No; when you do some act of charity, do not let
your left hand know what your right is doing; your good deed must be secret,
and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

‘Again,
when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; they love to say their prayers
standing up in synagogue and at the street-corners, for everyone to see them. I
tell you this: they have their reward already. But when you pray, go into a
room by yourself, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is there in the
secret place; and your Father who sees what is secret will reward you.

‘In your
prayers do not go babbling on like the heathen, who imagine that the more they
say the more likely they are to be heard. Do not imitate them. Your Father
knows what your needs are before you ask him.

‘This is
how you should pray:

“Our Father in heaven, thy name be hallowed;

thy kingdom come,thy will be done, on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us the wrong we have done,

as we have forgiven those who have
wronged us.

And do not bring us to the test,

but save us from the evil one.”

‘For if
you forgive others the wrongs they have done, your heavenly Father will also
forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, then the wrongs you have done
will not be forgiven by your Father.

‘So too
when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites: they make their faces
unsightly so that other people may see that they are fasting. I tell you this:
they have their reward already. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash
your face, so that men may not see that you are fasting, but only your Father
who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees what is secret will give
you your reward.

‘Do not
store up for yourselves treasure on earth, where it grows rusty and moth-eaten,
and thieves break in to steal it. Store up treasure in heaven, where there is
no moth and no rust to spoil it, no thieves to break in and steal. For where
your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

‘The lamp
of the body is the eye. If your eyes are sound, you will have light for your
whole body; if the eyes are bad, your whole body will be in darkness. If then
the only light you have is darkness, the darkness is doubly dark.

‘Therefore
I bid you put away anxious thoughts about food and drink to keep you alive, and
clothes to cover your body. Surely life is more than food, the body more than
clothes. Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow and reap and store in
barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. You are worth more than the birds!
Is there a man of you who by anxious thought can add a foot to his height? And
why be anxious about clothes? Consider how the lilies grow in the fields; they
do not work, they do not spin; and yet, I tell you, even Solomon in all his
splendour was not attired like one of these. But if that is how God clothes the
grass in the fields, which is there today, and tomorrow is thrown on the stove,
will he not all the more clothe you? How little faith you have! No, do not ask
anxiously, “What are we to eat? What are we to drink? What shall we wear?” All
these are things for the heathen to run after, not for you, because your
heavenly Father knows that you need them all. Set your mind on God’s kingdom
and his justice before everything else, and all the rest will come to you as
well. So do not be anxious about tomorrow; tomorrow will look after itself.
Each day has troubles enough of its own.

‘Pass no
judgement, and you will not be judged. For as you judge others, so you will
yourselves be judged, and whatever measure you deal out to others will be dealt
back to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye,
with never a thought for the great plank in your own? Or how can you say to
your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye”, when all the time there
is that plank in your own? You hypo­crite! First take the plank out of your own
eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s.

‘Do not
give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls to the pigs: they will only
trample on them, and turn and tear you to pieces. ‘Ask, and you will receive;
seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened. For everyone who
asks receives, he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be
opened.

‘Is there
a man among you who will offer his son a stone when he asks for bread, or a
snake when he asks for fish? If you, then, bad as you are, know how to give
your children what is good for them, how much more will your heavenly Father
give good things to those who ask him!

‘Always
treat others as you would like them to treat you: that is the Law and the prophets.

‘Enter by
the narrow gate. The gate is wide that leads to perdition, there is plenty of
room on the road, and many go that way; but the gate that leads to life is small
and the road is narrow, and those who find it are few.

‘Beware
of false prophets, men who come to you dressed up as sheep while underneath
they are savage wolves. You will recognize them by the fruits they bear. Can
grapes be picked from briars, or figs from thistles? In the same way, a good
tree always yields good fruit, and a poor tree bad fruit. A good tree cannot
bear bad fruit or a poor tree good fruit. And when a tree does not yield good
fruit it is cut down and burnt. That is why I say you will recognize them by
there fruits.

‘Not
everyone who calls me “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom of Heaven,
but only those who do the will of my heavenly Father. When that day comes, many
will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out devils
in your name, and in your name perform many miracles?” Then I will tell them to
their face, “I never knew you; out of my sight, you and your wicked ways!”

‘What
then of the man who hears these words of mine and acts upon them? He is like a
man who had the sense to build his house on rock. The rain came down, the
floods rose, the wind blew, and beat upon that house; but it did not fall,
because its foundations were on rock. But what of the man who hears these words
of mine and does not act upon them? He is like a man who was foolish enough to
build his house on sand. The rain came down, the floods rose, the wind blew,
and beat upon that house; down it fell with a great crash.’

When
Jesus had finished this discourse the people were astounded at his teaching;
unlike their own teachers he taught with a note of authority.

When he
had entered Capernaum
a centurion came up to ask his help ‘Sir,’ he said, ‘a boy of mine lies at home
paralyzed and racked with pain.’Jesus
said, ‘I will come and cure him. But the centurion replied, ‘Sir, who am I to
have you under my roof? You need only say the word and the boy will be cured. I
know, for I am myself under orders, with soldiers under me. I say to one, “Go”,
and he goes; to another, “Come here”, and he comes; and to my servant, “Do
this”, and he does it.’ Jesus heard him with astonishment, and said to the
people who were following him, ‘I tell you: nowhere, even in Israel, have I found such faith.

Then
Jesus said to the centurion, ‘Go home now; because of your faith, so let it
be.’ At that moment the boy recovered.